


Some Things Are Meant To Be

by DancingInTheMoonlight



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, F/M, Romance, season one AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-30 12:37:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3937063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingInTheMoonlight/pseuds/DancingInTheMoonlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU Skyeward that begins right after a certain kiss in a closet. Without Hydra coming between them, Skye and Ward were able to get that drink. But, certain events lead them down angst filled paths. Fix it fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so after that finale I have decided to block out everything that happened since season one episode seventeen. Instead, i'm re-writing season one and two, but using the awkward Ward that we fell in love with in season one, the protector, the dork, and the guy that needed a little time to open up and allow himself to care for people. Because that is the Ward that we deserved and it was the Ward that could have been the match for Skye, and for the team.

The sound of glass slamming down on the table caused Skye to pause. His forehead rested in his hands and his shoulders were tensed and hunched. It had been a few hours since they left the hub, and since their world had changed. 

Skye took a breath, and approached the bar, causing Ward to look up and straighten himself. He stared at her as she picked up the bottle, pretending to read the label, before putting it down and taking a seat next to him. She had spent the last hour going over what she could say to him to make this better, what she could do, because as much as he hid his feelings, she knew that he kept it all inside, and that he needed a shoulder. 

It reminded her of after he touched the Berserker staff, and the state that he was in after that. He was sitting in a bar, drinking alone. She had tried then to offer him a shoulder, but he declined, instead taking up a physical romance with May. Skye thought back to their conversation a few hours ago, Ward being surprised that she knew about them. ‘I’m not an idiot, Ward.’ She over heard them arguing over his taking a punch for her one time, and it became very apparent as to what was going on. Skye knew it for months, but she kept it to herself, because it wasn’t her place to call them out. She respected them both and she wasn’t an immature high school girl with a crush. She had no right to react to that. It didn’t matter that her feelings towards Ward had gone from crush to something deeper, because he was her SO, and a small part of her never believed that he felt the way she did.

She remembered what he said, that he couldn’t take that chance with her, that night, because he wouldn’t be able to compartmentalize. But he wanted a chance. A chance to what, talk, get a drink, become something more than they were? These thoughts ran through her mind. It was hardly the place to discuss their feelings. But, Skye let her emotions take over for a moment, and she let herself do something that she didn't think she would get another chance to do, pulling him into a kiss. It was short but the feel of his lips on hers was enough to create a butterfly in her chest. The look on his face was an image that made her smile. It got her through the next couple of hours. That and the will to fight for her agency and her family. 

The image of his confused face seeing Garrett walking out along with the other Hydra traitors also remained in her head. It took everything for her to not run to him. The pain in his face was enough for her to want to protect him. He had always protected her, and this time she wanted to do it for him.

“Are you ok?” Ward asked, suddenly aware that Skye was close to him. 

Skye smiled, ‘I came here to ask you that.”

Ward smiled into his glass, though his smile never reached his eyes. “I’m ok, Skye, just tired.” He rubbed his face. Skye noticed the layer of stubble that had formed on his face. Even looking as tired as he was, he was still able to look handsome. Skye’s attraction to Ward was just physical at first. Who wouldn’t have found him hot? He was tall, gorgeous and had a body that was firm and hard. She told herself that it was just a physical attraction for months, until she couldn’t lie to herself anymore. He wasn’t the robot that she always joked he was. He wasn’t emotionless. It was easy to tell herself that. It was easier than looking at his layers underneath the bad attitude and the anti social behavior. The minute that she let herself see the guy that was a little broken, that cared about all his team, and that cared about her, that’s when she broke. That is when she let herself dream of something, a chance, maybe. But in the back of her mind she remembered that ‘hoping for something and losing it hurts more than never hoping for anything.’

“I’m sorry about Garrett. I can’t imagine what you are going through.” She thought about placing a hand over his but stopped herself. His lips may have be on hers a few hours ago but she didn’t know what was going on between them and touches between them felt different. Intense. 

“I trusted him.” He finished off his glass and then moved in to the side of the bar out of close reach. 

“He was your SO. You trusted him. I wouldn’t know what to do if I was in your position. If my SO was a Hydra agent I would probably be breaking down in a bathroom somewhere.” Ward raised an eyebrow at her. “Not that you’re Hydra or anything, right?” Skye joked. She didn't want to imagine how it would feel. Ward didn’t trust easily, yet here he was, betrayed. Skye shuddered at the thought of it happening to her. 

“Yes, Garrett converted me from a young age and I have been secretly working for him as a Hydra mole within Shield.” Ward pulled the bottle towards him. Skye rolled her eyes. “Skye, I’m not Hydra, I promise you. I would never lie to you.” He found her eyes and stared at her, chest tightening at the idea that he would every hurt her like that. 

“I know that, sorry, I didn’t mean to joke about that.” She laughed to herself shaking her head. She paused as his hand covered hers. Ward was surprised by how own action. He wasn’t that guy. He didn’t ask women out for drinks and to talk. He didn’t sit by their hospital beds dreaming of all the things he wished he could tell them. He didn’t spend his nights thinking of how to word things to them, about what he felt for them. He didn’t let himself feel. But this beautiful woman had him doing things for the first time that he never thought he was capable of. May was right when she said that he had been lying to himself about his feelings for Skye. He had been hiding his feelings since he saw her with Miles and a feeling formed in his chest that he’d never felt before. He pushed it away, but it still remained there, growing everyday, until she lay flat, dying, and then it was as though everything made sense. The heart that he thought he locked away to protect along time ago was out its cage and it wanted something he never cared about before in his life. He wanted to be loved, by her, because he loved her. He wanted for the first time to have someone love him the same way he loved them. Growing up had taught him that just because you love people, doesn’t mean they won’t hurt you, beat you down, and abuse you. He still remained cautious but for the first time in his life, hopeful. 

Skye looked down at his hand and then up at his face. She didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the emotions of the day talking. She began to think that this was a joke, but Ward didn’t do jokes, he didn’t do emotions, yet here he was, and the truth was, that Skye was a little scared.

“Did you mean what you said?” She asked, letting her finger rub his thumb. 

“About what?” Ward had said many things in that closet, things he wanted to say to her since the day she was shot by Quinn. The day he thought he lost the woman that he loved, because he realized that he did love her. He never knew love before, but he knew what he felt for her was strong enough to be love. This smart, funny, annoying hacker got to him. 

“Did you really not feel anything for May?” 

“The only comfort we took in each other was knowing we didn’t have to. It’s different with us.” He topped Skye’s glass with a little more drink.

“You can’t choose to love.”

“Usually I can. It’s different with us.”

“Us is a strong ward. I mean, I know I kissed you, but to be fair, I thought there was a 97% chance we were gonna die.” Ward chuckled.

“But we didn’t die.” Ward smiled at her. 

“There’s no rush on us being an us. I mean it’s not like it’s the right time to start something.” 

“There’s never a good time.” He inhaled. “But we have to start somewhere.” He lifted his glass to hers and she smiled as they took a sip from their glasses. Ward didn’t know whether it was the emotions from the shock of the man he trusted most in the world betraying him, or if it was the alcohol, but he found himself more confident than ever. 

Ward put his glass down, and leant in closer. Her stared at Skye, his eyes looking from her lips to her eyes, to her lips. Skye followed his pattern, getting closer, looking up at his lips. She bit her lip and in that moment Ward closed the space between them, firmly placing his mouth on hers. It was different to the kiss earlier. It wasn't a kiss that could be the last first and the last like they thought in the closet, but it was a kiss that could open doors. Before he could deepen the kiss someone cleared their throat causing them to break apart. Ward looked round to see Fitz standing there, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide. They stared at him and him at them. 

“I’m sorry, I’m going to go,’ Fitz turned walking into the wall, ‘ouch, I just, need to, go, away, from the kissing, you guys can just do that, jus get right back in there, I need to go and do things.” He mumbled walking out. Skye looked at Ward, as he finally let out a real laugh, the sound making the butterflies appear in her stomach. The sound of his laugh was rare, but it filled Skye with warmth. She loved seeing him like that, with his guard down. The real Ward. She looked at his lips then up at his eyes.

“I’m willing to try,’ she bit her lip nervously, excitement and cautiousness running through her, ‘it doesn’t meant that I won’t freak out at some point, because I do that, but I just want to take it slow. It’s not the greatest time but I thing we should just give it a try.” She rambled. Ward tempted himself to move the piece of hair that was in her face away but he resisted. He’d never been in this situation before. He had women, lots of them, meaningless one-night stands, barely any kissing, and never sticking around to sleep in the same bed as them, but this was different. He wanted to know what it felt like to hold her hand, to brush his hands across her face and bring her lips to his own, and to just hug someone, and for them to hug him back. He wanted this, and he would wait as long as it took to be given the chance because for the first time in his life, he wanted something for himself. A love, a chance to be loved, but it took Skye to make him realize that he wanted that.


	2. Chapter 2

The door swung open and Ward walked out the room, finding Skye with her back was against the wall and her arms by her side, waiting for him. She took a step closer towards him.

“Did you fail? You hate talking about yourself, you would actually rather talk about anything else, so I can see him failing you for lack of conversing.” Skye teased.

Ward pointed to his chest, “Me fail a test? I graduated the Shield academy with the highest marks since Romanoff, and you think I would fail a little lie detector test? Is your opinion so low of me?” He sighed as he showed her his lanyard. She held it before letting it hit back against his chest. 

“Welcome back to Shield, Agent Ward.” She smiled, taking a step back. Ward returned the smile, and shook his head.

“Welcome to Shield, Agent Skye.” A proud sensation ran through him seeing her with a lanyard. It wasn’t her badge, but she worked hard and she was officially part of whatever was left of Shield. He always knew she could do it, and that is why he refused to take any credit from anyone, because she did it herself. 

“Thank you. My SO had a lot to do with it, though.” Skye was proud of her achievement and she was proud to have been taught by Ward.

“Skye, you did it all by yourself. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.”

“Always modest, Ward. Anyway, I got to go help Koenig with something. I’ll catch you later?” It had been two nights since their kiss on the bus. There hadn’t been time for them to talk, between their badges being taken, identities erased and Coulson having a meltdown and finding the Providence base, they never found a moment alone. Once or twice Skye found herself locking eyes with Ward, but there was nothing more than that. Fitz hadn’t brought up what he walked in on but they were both grateful being as that neither of them were really sure where they were to each other. 

“Yeah, I’ll see you.” He nodded, watching her turn and walk away. He waited for her to be out of sight then leant back against the wall, just letting himself breath for a moment.

“Hey.” Fitz’s voice caused him to stand back up straight, inwardly hissing at the disrupted moment. 

“Hey, so, are you guys taking off?” Ward asked.

“Yeah, Hydra breaking into The Fridge is just a nightmare. I wish you were coming instead of trip. He's insufferable, isn't he? “

“I think the guy's okay.”

“I know. He's terrible. He's a horrible person.” Ward raised an eyebrow.

“You sure this is about him? Not about Simmons?” He asked him.

“What the hell does that mean?” 

“Everything is falling apart around us. We don't know how it'll end. If there's something you want to tell her, don't wait.”

“Maybe Simmons should check you again for a head injury cause that's not the Ward that I know. Then again, maybe you’re talking from experience. You got something that you want to tell Skye? I mean I basically walked in on you two about to christen the bar” Fitz deflected. Ward rolled his eyes.

“The exaggeration is real. You know what? Do what you want. I don't care.” He started to walk off as Fitz did the same.

“Ward.” Fitz called.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry that Garrett managed to escape.” The conversation took a serious tone.

“It’s not your fault that Victoria Hand couldn’t even tell which of her people were really Hydra.” 

“They took everything, they let out all our most wanted, Victoria Hand is now dead and Garrett is running around free.” 

“We’ll be okay, Fitz.” He tried to reassure him, but the truth was that Ward was scared for the first time in his life, just wondering how this would end for them.

***

“Koenig said you managed to hack the NSA.” Skye jumped at the sound of Ward’s voice. “Sorry didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s ok, I’m just a little jumpy I guess. Where did he go?”

“He's sending everything over to NATO, CIA, Interpol. Guess he hopes they'll take it as a sign of good faith from Shield. It’s going to take him a couple of hours he said, but we got video of Garrett and the rest of them storming The Fridge.”

“I can’t believe he’s free. The agents that were with Victoria Hand were meant to have been cleared as Shield agents.”

“Victoria Hand trusted the wrong people and it got her shot and Garrett free.” Ward paused, sighing. “May's gone.”

“What do you mean gone, gone where?” 

“She left. I'm sure if I asked where, she wouldn't have told me.” Skye exhaled sharply.

“Wow. So, no goodbye? No nothing? She never felt anything for us, did she? She just played us so she could keep an eye on Coulson.” Skye shook her head, annoyed at the woman that she once looked up to. Her and May have their differences but she had respected her.

“She has her reason’s Skye.” She narrowed her eyes.

“Are you defending her?”

“Skye she’s a spy, you know, she had a job. It wasn’t personal.” Ward tried to make her understand. He didn’t agree with what May did. But it wasn’t on him to judge her. He was a spy too; he knew that when you got an order you didn’t question it. Skye didn’t show the same sentiment, as she replied by scoffing at his words. “It wasn’t personal?” 

Ward gestured for her to take a seat on the couch. Skye obliged sitting on the single sofa whilst Ward sat on the double.

“Specialists don't spend time with a lot of people. The ones we do, we're all cut from the same cloth.” Ward explained.

“Black Kevlar?”

“Trained to get the job done, keep emotions in check. But you you're different.”

"Different bad?” She smiled.

“Bad for me. I guess that’s why I didn’t want to think about you. I wanted to stay focused. Just like May, I had a job. I was protecting my team. I couldn’t let my emotions get the better. And then I saw you after you were shot fighting to stay alive? But you're right. I'm Kevlar. You're not.”

“You don't have to be. You don't have to shut people out.” 

“Yeah, I do. There are things about me that you wouldn't like if you knew. I see you upset with May and I just think that I can’t judge her because I’ve had to do things too, Skye, for Shield, things that you wouldn’t like, because I’m a spy and I had to do my job. You say that I don’t have to shut people out, but in my line of work, it’s the best option. It’s best to not get attached, because attachments make you weak. You know, Garrett drummed it into me at an early age that love is a weakness and for so long I believed him. I’ve done things, Skye. You need to know that I’m not a good man.” Skye looked at him before moving herself over to his couch and grabbing his face with one hand and his hand with the other. 

“Yes, you are.” She told him, looking into his eyes. Ward looked at her, the woman that meant so much more to him than he could verbalize. He pulled her in closer, kissing her with a hungry need. It was different to both of their kisses. Their tongues met and they both moaned at the sensation. His hand left her hand, to place itself at the back of her head as Skye moved into his lap, straddling him as they broke apart, looking into each other’s eyes, memorizing each other’s faces. 

Her hand reached down to his belt feeling underneath her how much he wanted this. Ward’s hand eased its way under her shirt, caressing her back. Skye deepened the kiss shivering just a little at the feel of his warm touch on her skin. Ward grabbed her butt using his one hand and flipped them over so he was on top. They broke apart for a moment before Skye attempted to pull up his top. He stopped her and stood up.

“Not here.” He said, taking her hand. He was going to do it properly. Skye wasn’t just a quick lay on the couch. She deserved more than that. He led her down the hall into his temporary room and closed the door behind them. Skye stood at the other end of the room. Her hair fell down her shoulders, and her brown eyes stared at him intensely. There were so many things that he could have said to her in that moment but instead he closed the gap between them by pulling her into his arms and kissing her. 

Her hands went under his shirt and she pulled it up as he helped her get it off before returning his lips to hers. Skye’s hands ran over his muscular back as she pulled her lips away from his, moving her mouth down to his chest. He found a spot on her neck to kiss. She moaned into his chest before lifting her self back up to meet with his lips. She whispered against them, “Grant” The sound of her using his name intimately drove him crazy. 

He helped her get her plaid shirt off, revealing a small tank top underneath. He lifted that up throwing that down with the rest of their clothes. He took her hand and led her to the bed, gently laying her down and covering her with his body. He took a second to appreciate the way she looked underneath him, her hair falling along her shoulders, in just her cream bra that covered her perfect chest and her toned stomach. He left a trial of kisses down her chest to her stomach, stopping when he reached the scars left from Ian Quinn’s gun. He stopped for a moment, an image of her bleeding out in front of him taking over. He let his head fall against her stomach with his eyes closed. Skye gently placed a hand in his hair and he looked up at her. He kissed her scars and made his way back up to her neck. He pushed aside a piece of her that had fallen into her face. 

“Skye, is this what you want, because I’d never want to hurt you?” He caressed her face and kiss her head. 

“Grant, shush, let’s just have this moment, please? I want this. I want you.” She stroked his face, her hands feeling the slight prickle of his scruff. It was the truth; she had never felt this way before. She had never needed anyone like this. Everything was falling apart but the only thing that made sense to her was the team and Ward. Skye felt something that she hadn’t felt since she was shot, she felt completely safe, in his arms. 

Ward nodded leaning over to grab his wallet from the top drawer of the small beside table. He pulled out a condom and threw the wallet back in the drawer, closing it. 

They took their time, worshipping each other’s bodies, getting to know each other in an intimate way, just switching positions, from Skye straddling his hips to Ward flipping her over and leaving kisses all over her body. She welcomed the feel of his hard body covering hers, and she closed her eyes enjoying the feel of him so deep. They pulled apart a few times, just looking into each others eyes and feeling the build up in their bodies, until they had both climaxed. 

Ward collapsed beside her, not wanting to hurt her by pushing his weight on top of her. He was a lot heavier than her and he was conscious of that. They shifted themselves so that Skye was on top in his arms and stayed quiet; trying to find a steady rhythm of breathing and just letting themselves enjoy the moment. Ward had never known that sex could feel like that. He’d enjoyed sex but he’d never felt it the way he just did with Skye. He realized that the stories were true; that sex was so much more when it was with someone you had an emotional bond with. He also realized that he was in trouble because he was ready to rip his heart from his chest and give it to her. 

“I want this.” Skye breathed out. Ward shifted himself and propped himself up on his elbow to look at her. “And you, what do you want?” She asked him. 

Ward didn’t have to think twice, “What I want, is to stay here with you, and pretend the world doesn’t exist.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos. Excuse the typos I never had much patience to go over it a third time. I have used a lot of dialogue from 1x19 in this chapter because let's be honest, if it wasn't for the little issue of Ward being Hydra then it could have been a really sweet episode. It was harder than I thought to try and rewrite the timeline without Ward being Hydra. Excuse the lack of smut, it was my first time writing it and i'm not the best. I'm hoping to take this story up until the season two finale. I have a great idea for a sequel but first I need to finish this.


	3. Chapter 3

They had been sitting round the seating area in the bus for a few hours playing a quiet game of scrabble. There was not much talking, and not much interacting. Ward raised his eyebrow occasionally at a few questionable words that Jemma would place down, but he never pulled her up on it. 

“There’s a meeting in five.” May interrupted them. Skye eyed her. It hadn’t been that much of a shock when Coulson announced that he and May worked things out and that she would be with them. She thought back to the conversation that she had with Ward, before they were together. She pushed aside the image of them entangled together in his bed at the base, and focused on before that, about how as spies they have to follow orders. Skye often viewed the world as black and white, right and wrong, but ever since she joined Shield she had learnt that sometimes things are neither black nor white, but grey. May had her reasons. 

They gathered around the holotable as Coulson pulled up a map. 

“Cuba?” Ward asked, looking at Coulson.

“I got word that it’s where Garrett is. You got any idea why he would be there.” Coulson asked Trip and Ward.

They looked at each other and Trip shrugged. Ward thought for a moment.

“Yeah, that’s where he goes to get his hair cut.” 

“He goes all the way to Cuba for a haircut? You never found that weird in all the years you spent with him?” Trip asked with a sharp tone. Ward narrowed his eyes.

“I never questioned the things that Garrett did.” 

“Ok then.” Trip scoffed. 

“You got something to say, Trip?” He was visibly irritated by the insinuation. 

“Come on, I can’t be the only one thinking it. You had been around this man since you were what? Fifteen? I heard the stories; I know that Garrett pulled you from your own hell. Are you really going to try and play that he never tried to convert you at all? You were his prodigy, Ward. He talked about you like you were his son. Anything that I did had been compared to you. Forgive me if I don’t believe that he wouldn’t have seen you as a valuable asset for Hydra. You knew things about him Ward, things that he never told anybody. I know that you guys still spoke. Heck, I overheard him on the phone to you before we first came to the bus. You didn’t know anything? Bullshit. That’s impossible.” He always thought that Garrett thought that Ward was the golden boy, that he could do no wrong. It never bothered him that much, until he started thinking that if he had been as good as Garrett said then there was no way that he wouldn’t have recruited him. 

Ward fell silent, letting the words sink in. He felt as though the room had started spinning. What Trip just said, it was as though the light bulb finally clicked. ‘Oh god’ he though to himself. He turned and walked out, needing to collect his thoughts. The team looked around at each other, before Fitz attempted to go after him. Skye pulled his arm back gently.

“Just let me, Fitz.” Skye gave him a gentle squeeze before following Ward. Fitz turned back to face Trip.

“Nice going, Agent Trip. You’re here for a few hours and you have already pissed Ward off.” Fitz didn’t need another reason to dislike Trip. His blatant attraction for Jemma was enough but added in with him upsetting Ward, Fitz was about done with him. 

“Enough, Fitz.” Jemma defended. Fitz stared at her wide-eyed.

“He just tried to say that Ward was Hydra. I mean, like who is he? Why is he here?”

“Hey man, look my SO turned out to be a traitor, you gotta forgive me for not being big on trust right now, especially with the guy that spent the most amount of time with him.” Trip put his hands up, as though it was surrender. His intentions were never to hurt anyone, but he wouldn’t let another person make him feel the way he had when he found out his SO was a traitor.

Skye followed Ward to his bunk, grabbing his door to hold it open. She leant against it to stop it from closing.

He stood still just in his own thoughts. Everything made sense to him now, and he felt sick to his stomach for not realizing it earlier. It hadn’t been since Trip started going off that he connected all the dots. The last time he spoke to Garrett and what happened after. It was all his fault. What happened to Skye was his fault and he never even realized it. 

Skye moved in, linking her arms through his and placed her chest against his back, embracing him. He froze, too deep in his thoughts and his guilt. He fought back the moisture in his eyes. He could feel it building. 

Her small frame held onto him and he thought about her lying on the floor in her own blood after Quinn shot her. It was his fault. 

He eased back into her embrace, turning his body around to pull her into his arms. He didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to have her gentle touch. 

“Do you want to talk?” Skye let herself take in his scent. It was addictive, a mix of cologne and body wash that blended so well together.

“No, I don’t want to talk.” He pulled back, staring into her eyes. He brought his head closer to capture his lips with hers. Skye was real, she was safe, and he would never let anybody hurt her again. He was going to make this right. 

“We need to get back to the others.” He pulled back, leading the way back. 

The team looked at them as they entered. Skye stood back in the same place, between Coulson and May as Ward crossed his arms, clearing his throat.

“Cuba is probably where Garrett was operating his base, we could get over there, take them down.” Ward placed his hands on the table.

“Then what, we still have probably a hundred other Hydra bases still operating.” May counteracted. 

“I don’t care, I will be damned if I let Garrett get away with murder. I say we take him out.” Coulson said. 

“We are going to risk everything just to go after John Garrett for a little revenge because our feelings got hurt? It’s not a good plan, Phil.” She narrowed her eyes. 

“But it doesn’t just have to be Garrett.” Skye quietly said as the others looked at her. “If it is a base, then they must have a computer that they operate with. If I can get in there then I could install a Trojan virus and download everything they have, hopefully all their bases and a list of everyone that’s working for them.” 

“That’s a good idea.” Coulson agreed.

“But how though, are we just going to go there and ask for a haircut and say ‘hey there, do you mind if we inject our virus into your hardware?’ I mean, it’s not exactly the most thought out plans.” Simmons scoffed at the idea. 

“She’s right.” May said.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m going in.” Ward pinched the bridge of his nose as the others all stared at him. “Garrett may be an evil son of a bitch, but Trip’s right, I was an asset to him, I still can be. He knows that I didn’t want to join this team initially, and he knows that I owe him a lot.”

“What do you owe him?” Fitz asked.

“It doesn’t matter. He knows that I would have done anything for him so we can use that. I can go there and say that I want to join his team.”

“No way.” May said.

“He’d never believe that.” Simmons walked round to him.

“That’s why I’m going with something to offer.” Ward closed his eyes for a second before opening them. He didn’t want to think about what he was going to say, because he couldn’t stand the idea of his team, his family hating him, and they would, especially Skye. He couldn’t keep it in though. “I joined this team with my own agenda, or Garrett’s agenda.” He began. “Garrett was on a mission, many years ago. Shield never provided him with an extraction team. He got hurt and ever since he has been desperate to find a way to fix himself. He is dying. He never said much but I know that he tried an experimental drug or something and that is what has been keeping him going. But in the last year he began to deteriorate. The reason why I gave in and joined the team was so that I could try and find out how they healed Coulson after the battle of New York.” Coulson’s mouth dropped open. 

“He was my SO, I owed him my life, I saw a chance to save him and I took it. Then Skye was, hurt, and he showed up. I swear, the only thing I was doing was trying to save his life. I never gave him information about any missions, I barely spoke to him, until the morning that we left for Italy.” Ward paused.

“What are you saying, Ward?” Coulson asked.

“Garrett knew that we were after Quinn. He never knew what the mission was but I’m sure that he was able to get hold of it. He was in a really bad mood the last few months. I guess he was feeling really bad with his health, and he was pissed that I hadn’t found the cure yet. He mumbled something about having to take things into his own hands and I swear I only just realized what it was. He let out Quinn when hydra raided the Fridge. They must have been working together.” 

“He ordered Quinn to shot Skye, that’s what you’re saying isn’t it?” Jemma asked. 

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. I didn’t tell him about Skye. I didn’t even think about it. Then he and trip came and I promise you my only care was getting that serum for Skye. Garrett and I never even discussed using it for him.” His voice was barely audible. He couldn’t look at Skye. He couldn’t deal with the guilt. It was eating him. But he had to push that away. Right now, he just needed to focus on revenge. That was his new goal. He would take down Hydra and make Garrett pay for what they did to Skye. The room was in silence until Coulson broke it.

“It wasn’t your fault, Ward.” Coulson met his eye. “I trusted Garrett too. There was no way that you could have known.” Ward tried not to let the shock show on his face. Coulson handled it better than he thought.

“Yeah it is, and I’m going to try and make it right. I’m going to offer him me and I’m going to hand him over the memory stick with all our files on it, our cases and the GH-325. Skye can put the Trojan virus on it and hopefully by the time they realize we’ll have all the information that we need from them.”

“That could work.” May looked at Coulson. 

“Ward, you’re putting yourself in a risky situation.” Coulson warned. Ward wasn’t going to break down and tell him that he deserved it. That wasn’t his style no matter how much he was thinking it. 

“There has to be another way, other than risking Ward. If Garrett finds out that it’s a trick then god knows what he would do to him.” Jemma stood next to Ward and Ward looked down at her. He struggled to understand why they were protecting him after he almost cost them Skye.

“Ward can you handle this?” May asked. Jemma and Fitz looked at her, scowls on their faces. 

“Are you serious? What if they realize? They could hurt him.” Fitz moved round next to Jemma.

“I’m a trained specialist, this is what I do. It’s hardly the most risky mission that I have been on.” Ward looked around at his team. He avoided Skye and looked at Coulson. 

“He’s right.” Coulson nodded. “Ok, Skye you secured the drive, how do you unlock it?” Coulson instructed.

Skye quietly said, “It’s location based, longitude and latitude. We can do it.” It was the first time that Ward had heard her voice since he told them. He still couldn’t look at her. After he completed this mission, he would deal with it. He would make it up to her. But he couldn’t talk to her now, he needed to stay focus and compartmentalize his emotions. 

“Ok, Skye decrypt the hard drive and leave our gift with them. Ward, get ready. The rest of you know what to do. We’re going to Cuba. Let’s bring Hydra down.” Ward walked straight out, heading upstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos. It has been rather hard to rewrite things without Ward being on the inside with Garrett so please excuse a few details that I have needed to change. This isn't my favorite chapter. It's probably my least favorite and a little bit of a filler but I needed it to get to where I need to get.


End file.
